Is Pokemon Scarlet and Violet worth your money? We are here to answer that all-important question with this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet review
An open world Pokemon game has finally Arrived in the form of Pokemon scarlet And violet the resulting game is an Interesting reworking of the traditional Pokemon gameplay for an open world Setting but as you’ll soon find out There’s a chunk of things that Disappoint about Pokemon scarlet and Violet me myself and I Zoe de lantilight Have been lucky enough to work with Eurogamers fantastic Lottie Lin on this Review the full version of which you can Read on eurogamer.net this is a long one So I’m just going to get right into it Here’s seven things we liked and four Things we didn’t like about Pokemon Scarlet and violet Gone are the days of neatly organized Roots funneling you from gym to gym for After completing the game’s opening Chapter you’re free to venture anywhere Paldera is the largest region the series Has seen so far ranging from greenfields To a Windswept desert to a bamboo Grove And upon leaving the city of misogosa For the Wilds it does feel like you’re On the cusp of a grand Adventure Navigating paldia never feels like a Chore either in part thanks to your Legendary Pokemon mount caridan in Scarlet and miraiden in Violet allowing You to travel faster and to places your Puny human legs could never reach you’ll Gradually unlock the ability to climb
Cliffs swim up rivers and glide down From mountain peaks on this Pokemon’s Back all of the locations on the horizon That you can Glimpse from your legendary Mount are reachable and while you can Set a destination on the Overworld map The mini-map will only show a marker Pointing in its direction how you reach Your destination is really up to you Creating the sense of carving out your Own Journey rather than following a set Path like in previous Pokemon titles Though you will often find yourself Being distracted by the siren Call of a New Pokemon to catch or an item to Collect and before you know it you’re Wandering through a new location Okay that’s one good thing about the Game out of the way now it’s time to Talk about one of the downfalls the true Arrow in scarlet and Violet’s side are The graphics and performance issues at This point saying the graphics and Pokemon games are disappointing feels Akin to moaning about water being wet Yep there are clearly locations which Were meant to inspire ore and it’s in Those places that the graphics prevent This feeling from ever manifesting Despite the bright colors pel deer has An inescapable blandness brought about By the basic textures and how in many Places there’s been no attempt to blend Their transition together leaving you
Staring at the perfectly straight line Between Rock and grass the gameplay Might be enough to distract you from the Graphics but what it can’t hide are the Frame rate drops you’ll be exploring a New Province when suddenly your avatar Will visibly slow down or you’ll spot The stilted turn of a windmill which Leaves you wondering if when Andy Miller Coated its gears in tar the frame rate Drops are most evident in the towns Where unless you’re standing next to Them NPCs walk like they’re in a bad Stop-motion film sometimes this can Result in them being trapped inside Their Pokemon companion or another Person in a very non-xrated way creating A body horror moment usually reserved For the darkest of Pokedex entries not To forget the other graphical glitches Which persist in the 1.0.1 patch I would be fully immersed in The game only to have an opponent’s face Flicker uncontrollably scenery jump into Existence or during a Victory Celebration have the ground clip out From beneath my feet during these Moments it was like I’d been growled by The Scruff of my neck and given a good Shake the fact is Pokemon is a franchise Which has the wealth both in time and Money to fix these issues when they’re Blatantly ignored I can’t help but feel Like it sullies the overall quality of
The games A selection of mechanics assist you in Paldea from making sandwiches which Provides useful boosts such as increased XP or extra power in raids for specific Types to Auto heal a little feature I Really came to appreciate due to how Much it cuts down on menu hopping as I Can heal my Pokemon from the team list Instead most notably there’s the let’s Go mechanic where you send out your Leading Pokemon together items and Automatically battle wild Pokemon not Only does this help grind Pokemon levels Since you don’t have to physically take Part in the battles it also makes Gathering materials such as fur mucus And of course flaps for crafting TMS Easier while TMS can still be found in The wild presumably abandoned by Forgetful trainers crafting these items Negates the worry of teaching a Pokemon In attack only to realize it suited Another’s moveset far better To give paldaya its size both physically And mechanically scarlet and violet has Had to sacrifice its depth despite the Numerous buildings you’ll see you can Barely enter any and you most definitely Can’t scour through people’s trash trust Me I’ve tried if you could get a Concussion from running face first into Doors in these games my avatar would Have a permanent forehead bruise sorry
Girl most of the buildings you can enter Are shops and even then you’re met with A menu screen it’s one you’ll quickly Memorize too because the same shops and Restaurants are present across paldea Some even appear multiple times in the Same city I miss the snapshots I used to Get from wandering into people’s homes And learning about how they live Alongside Pokemon it’s an element of Immersion that scarlet and violet both Severely lack because instead of being Bustling settlements the towns feel like They’re constructed out of the shoe box Castles I used to make as a child Slightly pretty on the outside but Hollow on the inside there has been an Attempt to bring life to the school you Attend namely Naranja Academy in scarlet And UVA Academy in Violet here you can Take lessons on the game’s mechanics and Even delve into the history of paldaya And in doing so you befriend the Teachers and even unlock rewards for Helping them with their troubles the School is one of the only places where It truly feels like you get to know Paldaya helped by it being interwoven Into one of the storylines Yep this Atmosphere is undercut by how easy it is To forget the school even exists once You’re free to roam it’s just more Evidence that cultivating pel deas lived In richness and depth has unfortunately
Been left by the wayside As always one of the greatest tools at Any Pokemon trainer’s disposal is the Pokedex the photographs are a welcome Addition to the Pokemon models but best Of all it’s been perfectly adapted for The game’s open world nature without Losing any of the surprise that comes From discovering a new Pokemon as you Battle and catch new Pokemon the Pokedex Collects notes sometimes it’s on a Pokemon connected to the new creature Such as an evolution but other times There’s no connection at all either way While the note doesn’t reveal its type Or name it will display the Pokemon Silhouette and more importantly its Location this is an excellent way to Encourage exploration or hint at a Pokemon you might have missed especially Since the Pokemon radar only tells you Which ones are nearby not their exact Locations so you can still experience The Thrill of the hunt The populace of paldaya haven’t fared Much better than its shoebox towns while The towns do feel full of people with NPCs wandering down the roads or sitting On a bench with their Pokemon barely any Have something to say those who can talk Are divided into two categories white Chat boxes where the speaker only has Surface level dialogue and golden chat Boxes which means the character offers
Some kind of feature be it a trade or Useful item while this differentiation Does save time it’s a disappointing Realization that I’ve gone from heavily Exploring a town chatting with every Local in hopes of uncovering their Secrets to ignoring anyone who hasn’t Been gilded with gold Aside from generation 9 scarlet and Violet also introduces a new battle Mechanic in the form of Terror types Activated via the terror orb this will Transform your Pokemon into a Crystal-like figure adorned with a crown Representing its Terror type it Genuinely looks amazing every Pokemon Has a terror type for single type Pokemon it will usually match their type While for dual types it will be their Primary type after using the terror orb Referred to as terroristalizing the Pokemon’s type will change into its Terror type in doing so moves Categorized under this Terror type will Become more powerful While others and Certain abilities will change okay I’ve Said the word type way too many times Now this creates a range of strategic Possibilities do you build a Pokemon’s Moveset around its Terror type or do you Change it in the hope of surprising your Opponent matters are further complex Created by two facts the first being That you won’t know a Pokemon’s Terror
Type until it’s activated and secondly The terror orb can only be used once Before it needs recharging with these Rules in mind you face a new conundrum When do I teristerize my Pokemon when my Opponent does it or do I wait all of These factors combine to make Terror Types a compelling mechanic which can be As intensive as you want it to be [Music] What does work in Scala and violet is The level scaling paldaya is divided up Into a collection of named locations Towns and four provinces one for each Cardinal direction these provinces are Then divided into a set of areas each Area has been assigned a number that Indicates the strength of the wild Pokemon who inhabit it since their Levels often rise alongside the set Number when it comes to the gym leaders And trainers you can expect their Party’s levels to reflect the wild Pokemon in the area or location they’re Within so if you’re in an area Containing Pokemon ranging from level 30 To 35 you can expect any trainer you Encounter to have similarly leveled Pokemon scarlet and Violet’s level Scaling is a good reimagining of the Traditional higher route number equals Stronger Pokemon system because it Adopts the principle of the further you Travel from the game’s starting location
With a corresponding increase in the Open world’s difficult many of the Pokemon you encounter will provide an Enjoyable challenge ensuring the gradual Growth of your team unless visiting North of palde is your first goal and if So I wish you luck and I’ll get your Gravestone ready right now yet you still Have a sense of trepidation every time You enter a new location because while You can see the Pokemon you don’t know Whether they can grind you into dust Unless you enter a battle a number of Times I found myself merely walking into A new area only to run away valiantly as Quickly as possible because to stay Would mean death The non-linear ish approach to Storytelling in scarlet and violet also Suits its open world design I say Non-linear Rish because you can’t run Into the Pokemon League with just your Level 5 starter Pokemon or skip over Certain events entirely to reach the end Of the main campaign instead you’re free To move between the storylines Victory Road Starfall Street and path of Legends Tackling the events within them in any Order you please gyms are similar though You’re free to tackle any gym leader Their team’s levels are set meaning There is an ideal order for collecting The gym badges aside from the first gym However the games don’t outline this
Order for you and while you can figure It out it’s more fun to craft a bespoke Journey to the Elite Four I found myself Regularly switching between the Storylines figuring out which activities Would challenge my team’s strength or Lay hidden in parts of paldea I was yet To visit it always felt like I was an Active party participant weaving the Story beats of my adventure together Unlike in sword and shield where you Were akin to a bystander during Important events Path of Legends and Starfall Street are Shorter when compared to victory road Yet both provide a welcome change from The typical flow of a Pokemon game in Path of Legends you assist Arvin in Finding and battling the Titan Pokemon Of paldea the Titans themselves act like Mini bosses with their exact levels Being hidden this design decision adds a Sense of danger at the beginning of each Battle as you never know how powerful The Pokemon towering above you are for Me Victory Road was the most enjoyable Storyline of scarlet and violet so if You’re looking for one to focus on that Would be it Starfall Street meanwhile tasks you with Raiding the team star bases scattered Around paldaya to stop the students Within from skipping school teams in Past Pokemon games may have sought world
Domination and Incredibly misguided Environmental changes but clearly this Is the greatest crime of all each base Is like the gyms themed around a type And after you’ve gained entry you’ll Have 10 minutes to defeat 30 Pokemon Using the let’s go feature while a Novelty at first battling team star in This manner quickly becomes tedious and Eventually I was wishing I could just Skip to the boss battle In the end I left paldaya feeling Conflicted I like the open World Gameplay especially the level scaling And the new Pokemon but they’re Entangled with the region which despite Its size always feels slightly empty Plus these Pokemon are brought to Stilted life in graphics we know are Beneath the Nintendo switch’s top Performance if more time and polish had Been applied to Scala and violet then The games could have lived up to their Ambition and been the expansive World Many fans myself included have dreamed Of so having said that do you think You’ll pick up Pokemon scarlet and or Violet let me know in the comments below If you enjoyed the video thanks very Much and don’t forget to like And Subscribe to Eurogamer as we have a new Video out almost every single day now I’m gonna go and smush my face into Fido Because they’re so goddamn cute so I’ll
See you lot next time Foreign
